Multiplying teacher totals

Michael Miller

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined higher education leaders Tuesday in

announcing a new program to increase the number of science and math

teachers in California’s public schools.

At the Bren Events Center on campus, the governor, along with

University of California president Robert Dynes and California State

University chancellor Charles Reed, announced the program, which aims

to recruit and train more undergraduates to enter teaching careers in

math and science, two areas where California has lagged in recent

years.

“Nothing is more important than education,” Schwarzenegger said.

“That is why, this coming year, we will spend billions of dollars

more on education than ever before. But money alone is not enough.”

Last year, the National Science Foundation reported that

California’s eighth-graders scored last in the country in sciences

and seventh from last in mathematics. Schwarzenegger attributed the

problem to a lack of qualified science and math teachers, noting that

many classes were taught by instructors with no credentials or a

credential in a different subject.

Under the new system, UC leaders plan to quadruple annual numbers

of credentialed science and math teachers by 2010, while leaders of

CSU -- currently the state’s largest provider of teachers -- will

expand its preparation programs as well. Math and science majors at

both university systems can earn a bachelor’s degree and a teaching

credential in four years.

UC and CSU schools offer additional incentives to the program. At

UC, science, engineering and math majors will undergo field

experience in kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms, summer

internships in industry settings and a yearlong paid teaching

internship upon graduation. CSU plans to place undergraduates in

tutoring positions in low-performing schools and also talk to middle

and high school students about entering teaching careers.

Funds for the program are expected to come from the state and from

corporate donors. Schwarzenegger pledged $1 million to the program in

his May revised budget. SBC and Intel Corp. presented checks for $1

million and $2 million, respectively, at Tuesday’s press conference.

According to the governor’s office, 18 companies so far have

committed funds toward the program, including Qualcomm, Boeing, US

Bank, Apple and Amylin Pharmaceuticals.

“The private sector will join us to make this a true partnership

for California,” Schwarzenegger said. “The California of tomorrow

will be shaped by what we do in the classroom today.”

According to Schwarzenegger’s office, the program -- dubbed

“California Teach” at UC and unnamed at CSU -- will be rolled out in

phases beginning next year.

The governor asked UC and CSU to collaborate on the math and

science initiative in May 2004. At the news conference, Dynes, Reed

and UCI chancellor Ralph Cicerone all spoke in favor of the project,

calling it a needed step not just for California, but also for the

United States, which they said had fallen off in recent years in

terms of scientific innovation.

“The signs of our decreasing lead are everywhere,” Cicerone said.

He compared America’s current status to the 1950s, when Russia

launched the first satellite into outer space.

UCI faculty members who attended the news conference voiced

approval for the governor’s plan.

“I thought it was very good, very appropriate, and it’s definitely

timely,” said Sue Bryant, dean of biological sciences. “Our state is

the capital of biotechnology in the country, so we have a huge

investment in the science and technology business. We need to have a

way for those businesses to flourish.”

While the media-only conference took place inside the Bren Events

Center, a group of several dozen educators, nurses, firefighters and

others picketed outside the doors, carrying signs deriding the

governor as “Benedict Arnold” and criticizing his school spending

policies.

Sharon Toji, an organizer for the Orange County Grassroots

volunteer group, said she invited 3,000 people on her mailing list to

come to UCI on Tuesday when she heard about the governor’s

appearance.

“Schwarzenegger needs to quit having the staged PR events like

this one,” Toji remarked, wearing a Rosie the Riveter T-shirt, as the

picketers filed next to her. “He’s borrowing a page from Bush’s book

-- only letting the cheerleaders in. It’s important for the people of

California to understand that his action-hero persona was strictly

for the movies.”

Next to the chanting protesters, two undergraduate students stood

silently with a pair of signs declaring “Join Arnold” and “We [love]

Arnold.”

“We’re not professional protesters or activists,” said Frances

Barraza, 21, a political science major. “We’re just here to support

the governor. We’re in favor of the special election. We think

teachers should be paid for merit, not just for sticking around.”

About the picketers marching by her, she added, “I don’t think

they represent the people.”